Paraguay's conservatives score big election win, defusing Taiwan fears
Paraguayan presidential candidate for the Colorado Party, Santiago Peña (C), celebrates with his wife, Leticia Ocampos de Pea (R), and Paraguayan former President Horacio Cartes, after winning the presidential election in Asuncion on April 30, 2023. Norberto Duarte | AFP | Getty Images
Paraguay's ruling candidate Santiago Pena, 44, scored a big win in the country's presidential election on Sunday, tightening the conservative Colorado Party's political grip in the country and defusing fears about the end of diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Pena, who has pledged to maintain Paraguay's long-standing Taiwan relations, had 42.7% of the vote with over 99% of ballots counted, a more than 15-point lead over center-left rival Efrain Alegre, who has argued for switching allegiance to China. "Thank you for this Colorado victory, thank you for this Paraguayan victory," Pena said in a speech. Alegre acknowledged the result. Current President Mario Abdo congratulated Pena as "president-elect," as did the leaders of Brazil and Argentina. Colorado and right-wing party candidates also performed strongly in congressional elections and governor races, with some provinces recording a historic Colorado majority over opposition rivals. The election result leaves Pena facing a challenge to rev up Paraguay's farm-driven economy, shrink a major fiscal deficit and navigate rising pressures from soy and beef producers to ditch Taiwan in favor of China and its huge markets. "We have a lot to do, after the last years of economic stagnation, of fiscal deficit, the task that awaits us is not for a single person or for a party," Pena said in his victory speech, calling for "unity and consensus."
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It also underscores the dominance of the Colorado Party, which has ruled for all by five of the last 75 years and has a fierce campaign machine, despite rising discontent from some voters over the slowing economy and corruption allegations. "Once a Colorado always a Colorado," said Eugenio Senturion, 65, as he voted on Sunday at his local polling station in the area of Jara, Asuncion. Dry weather helped voter turn-out, analysts said, with queues to cast ballots long after polling stations were formally meant to close at 4 p.m. (20:00 GMT). "All day we've observed high levels of participation," an observer for the Organization of American States (OAS) electoral mission said.
'Nothing will change'
Not all voters were happy, however, reflected in a larger-than-expected share for populist Paraguayo Cubas who had almost 23% of the vote in third place, reflecting wider support for anti-establishment candidates around Latin America. "I'm worried about crime. All the candidates are the same for me," said 34-year-old mother of three, Maria Jose Rodas, as a busload of voters arrived at the inner-city polling station. "Nothing will change." At the Mariscal Francisco Solano López school in the capital Asuncion, Ramona Oddone was one of the first in line to cast her ballot and was hopeful for a new direction. "Look at all the young people taking part — that shows people want change," the 79-year-old retired schoolteacher told Reuters. "They need jobs and I need a better pension." The Colorado Party has dominated politics in the landlocked South American country since the 1950s. But its popularity has been hit by a slowing economy and graft allegations.
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Source: CNBC
